Chip manufacter Intel has recently demonstrated a new processor consisting of 48 seperate cores. Intel calls this chip the Single-chip Cloud Computer (SCC). This processor is derived from the Tera design, which was introduced in 2006. Initially, processors based on the Tera architecture were to feature 80 cores, though these have never been produced for industrial applications. The Tera design was a so-called 'proof-of-concept' design. This resulted in the creation of the Single-chip Cloud Computer, codenamed Bangalore.
While the Tera architecture consisted of 80 'simple' floating point processors, the SCC features 48 x86 chips, created using a 45nm process. The surface is specified at 567 mm². The 48 cores are divided in 24 ' tiles'. Intel calls these dual-core tiles. Each of these tiles is capable of running at a different clock frequency to limit power consumption. These tiles communicate with one another by means of a 6x4 2D mesh network, featuring a total bandwidth of 256 GB/s.
The design also integrates four DDR3 memory controllers, capable of adressing up to 64 GB of memory. Despite the specifications, the chip uses no more power than a modern quad-core processor. The usage of this SCC ranges from 25 to 125W, dependant on the required performance.
The name Single-chip Cloud Computing can be explained because the design of the Bangalore is similar to the method datacenters are used for cloud computping. Everything is connected to eachother to gather more computing power. Intel claims that the new chip will also reduce the space required for servers, as well as significantly drop their power consumption.
It's still unclear when Intel will release its new SCC processor. The company does report that it won't take much longer, given the fact presentations have already been given. An SCC chip already rendered a JavaScript-based 3D model. The motherboard used in combination with this chip is branded Copper Ridge and sports an LGA 1248 socket.
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